Paper roll holders and methods for paper roll holding are important in a number of devices, including facsimile machines, copiers, calculators, and printers. To help competitively produce such devices with high quality, there is a need to produce a simple paper roll holder with a lesser number of parts, using a design that provides low cost and ease in assembly of the paper roll holder.
Traditional apparatus and methods for holding paper rolls often involve a relatively large number of parts, some of which are removable, and may involve the use of compression springs and guide pin holders. Loose parts are disadvantageous because they may be lost by customers, users, or servicers of the machine containing the paper holder. Guide pin rollers or intricate springs represent unnecessary complication in assembly and maintenance, as well as increased part count and cost.
The development of a new facsimile machine provided an impetus to meet the need for securing a paper roll in a low-cost, straightforward manner. The need existed to use only a few simple, yet reliable, parts in the design. The need also existed to devise a method which would allow for easy assembly of the holder which would securely hold the paper roll and yet allow paper to be easily dispensed from the paper roll.